Donna George Storey

Short Stories, Essays, Literary Erotica

Amorous Woman

Where to Buy—Indies, Chains, Online

Celebrated sex columnist Violet Blue put Amorous Woman at the very top of her top ten sexy reads of 2008. If you missed out then, you still have a chance to travel to Japan through these booksellers.

First I wanted to recommend the following independent bookstores that have been wonderfully supportive of my work. The Booksmith at 1644 Haight Street San Francisco has signed copies available. Diesel, a Bookstore at 5433 College Avenue Oakland is a wonderful place full of fascinating books, including mine!

Barnes and Noble in El Cerrito deserves special mention for their support, but you can also order it online, or pick up a copy at Borders. And of course, it’s available on Amazon US.

If you are in the US, you can order a signed copy of Amorous Woman from me using PayPal (you can pay from your PayPal account or by credit card by clicking on the Continue link in the lower left hand corner of the PayPal payment screen). The cost is $8 plus $4 shipping. If you would like a personalized dedication, please enter the name and any other relevant information in the Personalized Dedication Info field on the PayPal form.

This novel contains adult content. 18 and over only, please

Excerpts

You can hear a podcast of me reading one of the hotter scenes. Also, you can watch me read an excerpt at Rachel Kramer Bussel’s “In the Flesh” erotica reading series.

For those of you that prefer to read, here is an excerpt from Part Six: A Monk’s Wife in a City of Worldly Temptations

Eagerly I pulled out the next comic, the cover adorned with a drawing of a foreign woman, her enormous tits spilling out of a bustier with cups so pointy they could function as a deadly weapon. The stories in this volume were kinkier, with elaborate shibari bondage and writhing women stuffed with double-headed dildoes. I blushed, glad Chieko wasn’t here to see my reaction. Since I’d come to Japan, my fantasies had definitely wandered into S&M territory, one of my many adaptations to the culture.

In this story, a curvaceous young receptionist at a construction company shared a few cold beers with her gangster-like boss at day’s end, then headed off to the co-ed restroom to relieve herself. When she opened the door of the stall, she discovered to her dismay that the man was lurking by the sink with a wicked grin. What a naughty girl you are, to let a man hear you go pee-pee. Now that you let me listen, I have a right to see what you’ve got down there, too. Pushing her down on all fours beside the squat-style toilet, he yanked up her mini skirt and examined her pussy and asshole with a penlight, demanding she describe her own private parts to him. She protested—I can’t say it, I’ve never looked at myself down there—but the boss refused to believe her and threatened to fuck her with the penlight if she didn’t obey orders. Delirious with arousal and shame, the receptionist stuttered out the words: My pussy is red and slick with my juices, the lips are quivering with excitement and when I push myself open they’re all puffy and swollen, oh, please, I can’t go on. I’m so embarrassed, I could die. As a reward, the boss soothed her with his tongue and the tale ended happily with the couple screwing doggy-style on the restroom floor.

I rolled my eyes, but I also felt I’d gotten a glimpse into a couple of other Japanese sexual taboos. I’d noticed over the years that my Japanese women friends always flushed immediately when they entered a toilet stall and, in fact, I’d never once heard the sound of urination. Even the easygoing Chieko was careful to preserve this custom. With the cleanliness fetish in this country, fucking on the floor of a public restroom would surely be the height of depravity. More brazen still was the young woman’s courage in speaking the unspeakable. She actually described what the Japanese censors wouldn’t allow us to see, the visible evidence of her sexual desire, not to mention her tacit admission that she’d studied her own pussy in a mirror when she masturbated.

Now I was definitely turned on.

But what really got my mind racing was the thought that my own friend had imagined and created these stories. In her presence, I hadn’t allowed myself to think about what it meant to her to draw these pictures day after day. Now the questions swirled through my mind like the wild serpentine locks of her lesbian lovers. Did an editor assign the stories or did she make them up herself? Did she ever feel dirty catering to men’s fantasies for money? Was she excited by her own work? Did she imagine me—us?—in the throes of sexual bliss as she drew the two women together? Did she masturbate at her desk, legs spread wide around the chair, finger wiggling as she gazed at the lewd image that had sprung from her own head?

I jumped up from the sofa, determined not to masturbate again today. It was time for dinner, although I wasn’t hungry, not in that way. A salad seemed right for such a hot evening. I pulled a package of cucumbers from the refrigerator and removed one from the plastic wrapping. I washed it under cold water, rubbing its slightly nubby length with my palm.

I thought of the housewife in Chieko’s story and her vegetal yearnings. Japanese cucumbers were smaller than the American variety, just the right size for a little self-comfort on a lonely evening.

Already, the saintly intentions were fading…

Reviews

“In turns funny, insightful, and always erotic, this novel follows the sexual adventures of beautiful blonde Lydia through a modern Japanese male landscape. Donna Storey’s eye and nose for the redolent detail is a treat for all the senses as she spins her tale into a savory concoction not unlike the "cooked-to-your-liking" pancake of cabbage, egg, and smoky fish sauce called okonomiyaki that serves as the heroine’s comfort food. Amorous Woman is literary erotica at its best.”

— Liza Dalby - author of Geisha and The Tale of Murasaki

“The prose is seductive and sensual, yet simple and straightforward. It’s heartbreaking, yet it celebrates life. The narrative, like Lydia, is two things at once. Fantasy and fact are woven together throughout the story, a combination typified by the scene in which a Japanese professor of folklore draws a sketch of Lydia on a bridge by a waterfall where an imaginary kappa, a type of demon, lurks waiting. The professor is also likened to a tanuki, another type of demon, and the symbolism continues in the next scene where Lydia seduces the professor. The novel blurs the edges of reality and fantasy, presenting a third and individual state - Lydia’s reality…. This is a truly remarkable story. It’s not for everyone, but look past the apparent superficiality of the catalogue of sexual exploits and you’ll discern deeper meanings and the subtle layering of culture and Otherness. Amorous Woman is an astonishing and powerful tale told with grace and style. Easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.

— Singapore Sling - Cocktail Reviews

“The difference between pornography and erotic literature is the literary quality of the writing, how the subject matter of human sexuality is treated as simple (and simple minded) lust, or as a complex showcase of desire and behavior. Clearly, by this standard, Amorous Woman by Donna George Storey is a work of elegant eroticism …with a very special perspective on elements of Japanese culture that is related with a blend of humor, social critique, and literary skill that is impressive from beginning to end.”

Amorous Woman Blog Tour

Travel with me through the floating world of cyberspace-you’ll read lots of spicy tell-all interviews, see a few risqué photos, and learn lots of things about sex, erotica and writing novels. Bon voyage!

Blowjobs Among the Blossoms. Join me for an illustrated journey through the Gion I described in
my Best American Erotica 2006 story, “Ukiyo.” Some stops are familiar, some
brand-new, and you definitely won’t want to miss the provocative manga showing
misbehavior under the cherry blossoms in as lascivious detail as the Japanese
censors allow.

An Amorous Journey to Japan (Clean Sheets.com) — Wanna see where Lydia fell in love with the elegant dentist? The hot spring bath where she got into mischief? The streets of Gion where she escaped to indulge in seedier adventures? Join me for an illustrated travelogue of famous settings from my novel.